Street and station indicator.



No. 670,644. Patented mar. 26, mm.

r. scuueem.

STREET AND STATION INDICATOR.

(Application filed Aug. 14, 1900.) (No Model rrnn STATES FERDINAND SOHUBERT, OF MARTINSVILLE, INDIANA.

STREET AND STATION INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 670,644, dated March 26, 1901. Application filed August 14, 1900. Serial No. 26,883. No model.)

To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, FERDINAND SCHUBERT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Martinsville, in the county of Morgan and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Street and Station Indicator, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to street and station indicators for railroads and other transporting devices, and has for its object to provide an improved device of this character which is constructed so as to effectively display the names of the streets or stations in their successive order and also arranged so that the device may be reversed to present the names of the streets or stations during the return trip of the car or train. It is also designed toprovide an improved and simple form of operating means which carries the reversing mechanism in position for convenient access, so that the indicator may be conveniently operated without requiring any particular degree of skill or experience.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described," shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invent-ion.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a, front elevation of an indicator constructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof, showing the operating mechanism. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional View through the operating-arm. Fig. 4. is a detail sectional view illustrating the means for reversing the indicator. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the pawl, which affords a ratchet engagement between the operating crank-arm and one of the gears.

Corresponding parts'are designated by like characters of reference in all of the-figures of the drawings. I p

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the box or casing, which houses a belt 2, that has.

its opposite end, wound upon opposite drums contained within the casing. This belt is provided with the names of the streets or stations, and such names are successively displayed through a suitable opening 3, formed in the front of the casing. The opposite edge portions of the belt are provided with a series of numbers indicating the distance of the respective stations to a certain predetermined station. These series of numbers are successively displayed through the respective openings 4 at opposite ends of the opening 3, and said openings are designed to be closed by means of the sliding doors 5.

As best indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the shaft of the lower drum is provided with a gear 6 and the upper drum with a gear 7, both of which are of the same diameter and also located upon the outer side of the same end of the casing. Located between the two gears and in mesh with the same is an idle pinion 8 to transfer motion from the lower or master-gear to the upper gear, thereby turning the two drums in the same direction and at the same rate, so as to wind the belt from one drum to the other. Pivoted to the adjacent end of the casing and located above the upper gear is a reversible gravity detent or ratchet 9 to prevent backward movement of the drums.

The means for operating the device comprises a crank-arm 10, which has its inner end loosely mounted upon the shaft of the lower drum and is also located upon the outer side of the gear 6 and projects beyond the peripheral edge of the latter. Secured tothe outer free end of the crank-lever is an operatingcord 11, which has two branches 12 and 13, which diverge and pass through the respeotive pulleys 14 and 15, mounted upon the upper portion of the adjacent end of the easing. These branch cords extend at opposite sides of the car, so that the indicator may be operated from any portion of the car in the manner of the ordinary fare-registers.

A detachable operating connection is had between the operating-arm and the adjacent operates through an opening'l7, formed in the arm, and the inner end of the pawl is designed to take into one of a concentric series of ratchet notches or recesses 18, formed in the outer face of the adjacentgear 6. The greater portion of the pawl is housed within a tubular casing 19, which projects laterally outward from the arm, the outer exposed end of the pawl being provided with a suitable operating finger-piece or head 20. Within the casing is a pair of guide plates or bars 21 and 22, through which the shank of the pawl slides, and a coiled spring 23 encircles the shank, to which it is connected, and also bears against one of the plates or guides, so as to normally and yieldingly hold the pawl at its inner limit, with its innerend in engagement with one of the notches of the adjacent gear. One side of the inner end of the pawl is beveled, as indicated at 24 in Fig. 4 ot the drawings, so that the pawl may travel over the outer side of the gear in the manner of a ratchet, and said pawl may also be turned within the housing, so as to reverse the position of the inclined portion of the pawl for a purpose as will be hereinafter explained. The outer end of the casing 19 is provided with a pair of diametrically opposite longitudinallydisposed stop pins or lugs 25 for engagement by a radial projection 26, carried by the pawl, so as to limitthe turning movement of the pawl, and thereby accurately stop the latter in its opposite positions. The crank-arm is normally held at its lowermost limit by means of a coiled spring 27, which has its opposite ends connected to the arm and the bottom of the casing.

In the operation of the device either of the branch operating-cords is pulled, thereby elevating the free end of the lever and turning the gear 0' by reason of the pawl 16 being in engagement with one of the notches in said gear. The latter gear also turns the opposite gear 7 through the medium of the intermediate pinion, whereby the opposite drums are turned simultaneouslyin the same direction to wind the belt from one drum to the other. \rVhen the strain is released from the operating-cord, the spring 27 immediately draws the operating-arm downwardly, the pawl readily slipping from the adjacent notch, as the beveled portion thereof is upon the under side of the pawl, and the latter drops into the next-below notch at the lower limit of the arm. The movement of the arm is limited in opposite directions by means of the opposite stop-pins 28 and 29, which project outwardly from the adjacent end of the casing, so that the indicator is turned the proper distance to advance the belt the required distance to bring the names of the streets or stations opposite the opening in the front of the casing containing the belt and drums.

In order that the drums may be turned in the opposite direction to display the names of the streets or stations in their consecutive order during the return trip of the car, the gravity pawl or detent 9 is reversed and the pawl 16 is also turned into its reversed position, thereby bringing the beveled portion thereof upon the upper side of the pawl. By this adjustment the pawl slips from the notch in the gear upon the upward movement of the arm and drops into the next above notch, and when the arm is released the spring 27 draws said arm downwardly, whereby the adjacent gear is also turned in the same directions and opposite to its original direction, thus reversing the motion of all of the parts of the indicator and winding the belt from the upper drum to the lower drum.

When the pawl 9 is in the position shown in Fig. 2, the toothed gear 6 and the upper gear 7 are designed to turn in the same direction, as indicated by the arrows, but are held against a reverse movement by the pawl 9, and it will thus be apparent that the jarring of a car or train may result in a forward turning of the gears and cause a consequent movement of the belt carrying the name of the streets or stations. To obviate this difiiculty, a longitudinally-movable pawl 30 is mounted upon the inner side of the operating-lever 10, as best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. This pawl is mounted to slide through a pair of lateral guide projections or ears 31, formed upon the inner side of the lever, and a coiled spring 32 encircles the shank of the pawl and is confined between the ears, so as to yieldingly hold the pawl at its inner limit with its inner end in engagement with the toothed periphery of the gear 6. A guardfinger 33 projects from the ears and overlaps the adjacent portion of the periphery of the gear h and at the inner side thereof, so as to prevent a lateral and outward displacement of the lever 10. The lower end of the operating-eord 11 passes downwardly and around the outer portion of a suitable grooved pul ley 3 L, mounted upon the inner side of the outer end of the lever, the extremity of the cord being connected to the outer end of the pawl 30. A suitable lateral guide-lip 35 is provided at the outer extremity of the lever, so as to overhang the periphery of the pulley, and thereby prevent accidental displacement of the cord. When the operatingcord is pulled, the pawl 30 is first disengaged from the gear 6, after which the lever or arm is moved upwardly to operate the device. Thus the cord forms a combined lock-tripping and leveroperating device. After the lever or arm has again reached its lowermost limit the pawl again takes into the toothed periphery of the gear 6, whereby the latter is locked against accidental reverse movement of the gears by reason of any jarring of the device.

As best shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, it will be seen that the head of the pawl 16 is provided with a pair of adjacent projections 26, which form a notch to receive the respective stop projections 25, whereby the pawl is held against accidental turning.

What is claimed is-- 1. In an indicator of the class described, the combination with opposite drums, a belt wound thereon and bearing a successive series of characters, of an operating crank-arm, and a rotatable and longitudinally-slidable spring-actuated ratchet-pawl carried by the arm, and having a beveled inner end 'in ratchet engagement with one of the drums, and means for rotating the pawl to reverse the direction of operation.

2. In an indicator of the class described, the combination with opposite drums, a belt wound thereon and bearing a successive series of characters; of an operating crank-arm,

a train of gears connecting the drums, a rotatable and longitudinally-slidable ratchetpawl carried transversely of the arm, and having its inner end beveled and in ratchet engagement with a concentric series of notches in one of the gears, and means for rotating the pawl to reverse the direction of operation.

3. In a street and station indicator, the combination with opposite drums, a belt wound thereon and bearing the names of the streets or stations, and a train of gears connecting the drums, of an bperating crank-lever having one end fulcrumed upon the shaft of one of the gears, thealatter having its adjacent face provided with a concentric series of notches, the lever also having a slot or opening to register with the respective notches of the gear, atubnlar casing extending transversely outward from the opening in the arm, and provided at its outer end with a pair of diametrically opposite stop projections, and a longitudinally-slidable and rotatably-movable spring-actuated pawl housed within the casing, the inner end of the pawl normally projecting through the opening in the arm and having one side beveled and arranged for engagement with the series of notches in the gear, an operating finger-piece at the outer end of the pawl, and a lateral projection for engagement with the stops to limit the rotatable movement of the pawl.

4:. In an indicator of the class described, the combination with opposite drums, a belt wound thereon and bearing a successive series of characters, and a train of gears connecting the drums, of an operating crankarm having a ratchet engagement with one of the gears, ratchet means for preventing a reverse movement of the gears, locking means for preventing an accidental forward move ment of the gears, said means being carried by the operating crank-arm and normally in locked engagement with the adjacent gear when the crank-arm is at rest, and a combined lock-tripping and crank-arm-operating device.

5. In an indicator of the class described, the combination with opposite drums, a belt wound thereon and bearing a successive series of characters, and a train of gears connecting the drums, of an operating crankarm having a ratchet engagement with one of the gears, locking means for preventing a forward movement of the gears, said means being carried by the crank-arm and normally in locked engagement with the adjacent gear when the crank-arm is at rest, and a combined lock-tripping and crank-arm-operatin'g cord connected to the locking means.

6. In an indicator of the class described, the combination with opposite drums, a belt wound thereon and bearing a successive series of characters, and a train of gears connecting the drums, of an operating crankarm, having a ratchet engagement with one ofthe gears, a spring-actuated pawl carried by the crank-arm and normally in locked engagement with the toothed periphery of the adjacent gear, and a combined lock-tripping and crank-arm-operating cord connected to the pawl.

7. In an indicating device of the class described, the combination with opposite drums, a belt wound thereon and bearing a successive series of characters, and a train of gears connecting the drums, of a crank-arm having a ratchet engagement with one of the gears, a spring-actuated pawl carried by the crank-arm and yieldingly held in normal engagement with the toothed periphery of the adjacent gear, a pulley carried by the arm,

and an operating-cord running through the pulley and also connected to the pawl.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affiiied my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FERDINAND SCHUBERT.

Witnesses:

W. B. ENSOR, O. P. ELLIS. 

